


Taboo

by Eggling



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: M/M, have some good old 'oh my god they were roommates...', late happy pride month lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggling/pseuds/Eggling
Summary: "The Doctor frowned down at the offending piece of furniture, his expression deepening into a scowl when it stubbornly refused to duplicate itself. “There’s only one bed.”Huffing out a smile, Jamie closed his eyes. “Och, that’s what you’re worried about?” He reached over to grab the pillow, pressing it against his chest. “There’s enough room for both of us.”"Staying overnight in an old inn, the Doctor and Jamie find themselves closer than they had expected.
Relationships: Second Doctor/Jamie McCrimmon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	Taboo

**Author's Note:**

> on [tumblr](https://the--highlanders.tumblr.com/post/620276631831986176/taboo).

“Oh, dear.” The Doctor paced his way around what little empty space there was in the room, filling each corner with his movement before carrying on to the next. When at last he had inspected every nook and cranny of the place, he came to a halt in the middle, tapping his fingers together nervously. “Oh, dear, oh dear.”

“What’s wrong?” Jamie had watched the whole thing with an air of gentle bemusement. He pushed himself away from the doorframe, flopping down on the bed in one careless motion. Its springs squeaked against themselves at the unfamiliar movement, and the Doctor fought the urge to clap his hands over his ears and block over the piercing sound. “Seems alright tae me.”

“Well -” The Doctor frowned down at the offending piece of furniture, his expression deepening into a scowl when it stubbornly refused to duplicate itself. “There’s only one bed.”

Huffing out a smile, Jamie closed his eyes. “Och, that’s what you’re worried about?” He reached over to grab the pillow, pressing it against his chest. “There’s enough room for both of us.”

If his face had not been bright orange already from embarrassment – well, it was sure to be positively burning at that, the Doctor thought despairingly. “I’ll – ah – I’ll take the floor, shall I?” he asked, slightly too loudly to be entirely nonchalant. Jamie’s expression was somewhere between amused and fond, and the door out of the room was looking just a little too tempting. “Or – perhaps they have another room, or I could stay outside -”

“What’re ye on about?”

“Well -” Of course Jamie would make him spell it out. “We couldn’t possibly _share_ , could we? That is – it wouldn’t be polite.”

“Wouldn’t be polite?” Jamie echoed incredulously. He sat up, tugging his boots off and tossing them a little way across the room. “You’re bein’ daft. There’s no’ any other rooms, an’ you’ll freeze tae death out there. It’s polite not tae die on me when we’re miles away from the TARDIS.”

The Doctor blinked at him. “Right. Well, the floor it is, then.” He made to spread his jacket over the uneven floorboards, but Jamie caught his wrist, fingers brushing against his palm for a moment. _Oh, and didn’t that just set your hearts off again_ , a nasty little voice inside him whispered. “I’ll be quite alright, Jamie.”

“There’s a draft.”

He wanted more than anything to curse Jamie’s stubbornness – but worry was written all over Jamie’s face, and he could not muster up anything more than lazy, half-hearted frustration. “It wouldn’t be polite,” he insisted, more weakly this time. “It’s – ah – well, you see -” Honesty and resolve failed him in the same moment, and he kicked off his shoes, flapping his hands to usher Jamie over. “Budge up, then.”

“Aye, alright, I’m goin’.” Jamie shuffled to the other side of the bed, perching himself on the very edge as the Doctor clambered under the threadbare cover. He watched him for a moment, then began to pull his shirt over his head, and the Doctor let out a squawk of surprise and alarm.

“What _are_ you doing?” he exclaimed.

Jamie stared at him. “I’m gettin’ ready for bed.” He nodded down at the Doctor. “Don’t tell me you’re gonnae sleep with your coat on.”

“Oh.” In truth, he had quite forgotten about his coat, but it would hardly do to go telling Jamie that. “As a matter of fact, I am.” He pulled the blanket closer around his shoulders pointedly. “I’m a little cold.”

“I could keep ye warm -”

“ _No_ , thank you.”

“Alright, alright, I was just offerin’.” Leaning over to blow out the oil lamp beside the bed, Jamie tugged a corner of the blanket away from the Doctor’s white-knuckled grip, nestling himself down into the thin mattress. “What’s got ye all worked up, anyway? Ye were fine before.”

“I’m quite alright.” Jamie snorted. “I’m not used to sharing a bed, that’s all. It’s, well, something of a cultural taboo.”

“What, sharin’ a bed?”

“No, no. Ah – touch, I suppose.”

The springs in the bed creaked, but he did not dare roll over to see Jamie’s face. “Really?”

“Mm.”

“Oh.” Another bout of shuffling and creaking. It was maddening to not know what Jamie was doing, but he knew it would be impossible to talk so freely while looking him in the eye. “Do I…” He was quiet for a long moment. “Do I make ye uncomfortable?”

“Oh! Oh, my word, no. It’s rather nice, really, and I – ah – I wouldn’t say I’m a stickler for tradition.” The Doctor rolled over, startling when he found himself all but nose to nose with Jamie. He bit his lip, staring up at him. “This just – well, it caught me by surprise, I suppose.”

“Good.” Jamie closed his eyes. “Have ye really never shared a bed with anyone before?”

“Not that I can recall. Have you?”

“Aye, all the time. With my brother, when we were home, an’ then we’d all have tae be sleepin’ next tae each other when we went up tae the shielings.” A small smile flickered across Jamie’s lips. “It’s nice, ye know? You’re no’ on your own. I’ve – och, it sounds silly, but the TARDIS gets a wee bit lonely, sometimes. I’m no’ so used tae havin’ a big room all to myself.”

“Well, we could always change your room, you know. All it takes is a little fiddling.”

Jamie shrugged. “Aye, maybe. I’d still be on my own, though.” His face was full of something the Doctor could not recognise. “Hey, I don’t suppose ye could move over, could ye? Only I’m a wee bit -” He gestured down at himself, pushing himself up just far enough for the Doctor to see that he was balancing on the edge of the bed. “I dinnae have much room, that’s all.”

“Ah – oh, dear, I am sorry.” The Doctor rolled over, feeling Jamie do the same. He closed his eyes resolutely, trying to ignore the warmth beside him – but Jamie curled in on himself, bumping his back against the Doctor’s, and a jolt of electricity ran down his spine. He almost cringed away instinctively, straining to keep himself frozen in place. Jamie seemed entirely unworried, pushing his side of the pillow into shape before nuzzling down into it, and the Doctor felt every move he made amplified ten times over. His whole nervous system was stinging with a self-conscious embarrassment, even as the thought of breaking a long-held rule filled him with giddiness. “You could always – that is, if you’re feeling lonely -” The words dragged themselves out of him almost of their own accord, emerging strangled and breathless. He was sure that he would not be so brazen if he was facing towards Jamie, if the wall between them had not already been cracked. It took only a moment’s hesitation for him to breach it entirely. “Well, my room is open to you. If you need it.” His cheeks were burning so hot that he half-expected the pillow to go up in flames. _What on earth were you thinking?_ he berated himself. _You’ve scared him off for good now_.

An agonising silence stretched out between them, filled only by the twin pounding in his ears. When at last Jamie spoke, his words were all but drowned out by the Doctor’s thundering heartbeats. “I wouldnae want tae – disturb ye, or anythin’ -”

“You wouldn’t be,” the Doctor mumbled. “I meant what I said.” And that was the worst of it, that he had hoped Jamie would say yes. He cringed again at the thought that he had been so bold – and at a time like this, no less, with Jamie so close. What had seemed impossibly within reach moments before now seemed more ill-considered than any harebrained scheme he had ever led them into.

“I ‘spose you’re up at funny hours anyway,” Jamie said slowly.

“Yes, I suppose I am.”

“An’ ye wouldnae mind?”

“No.” The Doctor’s voice was more of a squeak than a murmur, and he cleared his throat, trying to gather the scattered pieces of his mind that had not yet short-circuited themselves into incoherence. “I wouldn’t.”

“Aye, well...” Jamie mumbled something to himself. “Thanks.”

“You’re, ah, you’re quite welcome, Jamie.”

He lay still and silent again, listening to the rustling sound of Jamie shifting around and tugging the thin blanket that lay over them to and fro. “I can hear ye worryin’,” he said at last. “I cannae sleep knowin’ you’re worryin.’”

The Doctor burst into surprised laughter, quickly hushing himself when he remembered the hotel’s rickety walls. “I’m not worrying.”

“Aye, ye are,” Jamie insisted. “You’re tyin’ yourself intae knots over something.” He rolled over, but the Doctor did not dare turn around and face him. “Is it about Ben and Polly?”

The Doctor let out a soft gasp at the mention of their names. In truth he had quite forgotten that Ben and Polly were in the same predicament that they were, lost and far from the TARDIS. He could only hope that they too had found some sort of shelter. “No,” he said at last. Jamie lay a hand over his ribcage, surely close enough to feel the frantic beating of his left heart, and he muffled another squeak of surprise. “It’s not important.”

“Good.” Shuffling closer, Jamie settled his hand over the Doctor’s waist, pressing his forehead against his back. “Is this alright?”

If the Doctor’s hearts had been beating double-time before, they were entirely erratic now. Any body-scan worth its salt would surely have predicted a heart attack within the next few minutes. A small part of him wanted to shout and shake Jamie off, to take his coat and settle himself on the floor, alone and left in peace. But the larger part of him craved the warmth of it like a snake seeking sunlight, wanting to press himself closer into the oddly pleasant feeling.

“It’s quite alright,” he said softly. “Quite alright indeed.”


End file.
